US Body Count In Iraq Nears 4000 - When Will We End It?

Today the count marches toward 4000. That would be the number of American troops killed in Iraq. The actual figure as of this morning is 3987, but the milestone will be reached within a week at the rate things are going.

Tragic as this number is, an even sadder fact is that according to the Pew Research Center, nearly half of all Americans think the actual count is only about 3000. I suspect our country is drifting into the same state we were during Vietnam when the daily death counts and battle reports numbed people into a state of disbelief. Having lived through that tragic time in our history, I too found myself somewhat immune to the daily reports of carnage and death.

It is dangerous for a country to slide onto disinterest in such matters, and that condition allows politicians to do things that otherwise would be unthinkable. We must not be lulled into a state of unconsciousness. We must continue to look at the cold hard facts of this unjust war and see it for what it is, a criminal act being perpetrated on the Iraqi people and our own brave young men and women in uniform.